Presentation given at TESOL 2000 Academic Session in Vancouver, BC.

1. TESOL 2000:
Connecting & Building a
Community of Learners
Russell Frank & Robert Lee
Pasadena City College
Pasadena, California

2. Some Attributes of
Learning Communities (1)
Involves both students and faculty in all
activities.
Emphasizes student involvement through
active and collaborative learning processes
Creates an energizing and socially reinforcing
learning environment wherein faculty and
students collaborate on intellectual issues

3. Some Attributes of
Learning Communities (2)
Asks students to listen and respond with
sensitivity to other students’ experiences,
perceptions and ideas.
Integrates basic skills, critical thinking, and
content within a contextual framework.
Provides frequent reinforcement and an
immediate and relevant basis for evaluating
student learning deficiencies and strengths.
Assists students in overcoming weaknesses.

4. Using technology to promote the
development of community
E-mail & e-mail groups (listservs)
Web pages (faculty & student)
Threaded discussion groups or bulletin
boards (asynchronous)
Synchronous (chat) discussion, real
time audio and video communication

5. What makes virtual learning
communities “work”?
Participation (access)
Multi-directional “real” communication
Responsible, ethical, and “safe”
communication
Engaging content

6. Do communities “just happen”
because of the technology?
Yes: Technology
mediated communication
allows people to connect
in new ways.
and
No: Training is necessary
for all participants, just as
it is in the classroom

7. Benefits of Technology-Assisted
Learning Communities (1)
Involves both students and faculty in all
activities.
From the first on-line activity, teachers
model and encourage the kinds of
participation that they expect from the
students. The teacher are co-
participants in the activity.

8. Benefits of Technology-Assisted
Learning Communities (2)
Emphasizes student involvement through active
and collaborative learning processes.
Students co-create ideas through
synchronous and asynchronous
communication.
The permanence of asynchronous
communication allows for the modeling of
developmental processes in thinking.

9. Benefits of Technology-Assisted
Learning Communities (3)
Creates an energizing and socially
reinforcing learning environment
wherein faculty and students
collaborate on intellectual issues
Extending discussion beyond the
physical, temporal, and social
constraints of the classroom allows for
more developed and thoughtful
discussions of ideas.

10. Benefits of Technology-Assisted
Learning Communities (4)
Asks students to listen and respond
with sensitivity to other students’
experiences, perceptions and ideas.
Technology allows us to model and
reinforce appropriate responses and to
give immediate feedback to
inappropriate responses.

11. Benefits of Technology-Assisted
Learning Communities (5)
Provides frequent reinforcement and an
immediate and relevant basis for
evaluating student learning deficiencies
and strengths. Assists students in
overcoming weaknesses.
Examples from student postings can be
quickly identified, selected, and discussed
soon after the initial posting to further the
learning process for the whole class.